Oblique junction-plane rail joint



May 8, 1945. M. CIPOLLA 2,375,523

OBLIQUE JUNCTION-PLANE RAIL JOINT Filed Jul 11, 1941 I l v (1 5244441 1 5 mpg? Jil/oi'neyq Patented May 8, 1945 onLI QUn JIiNo'rIoN- LANE- RAI L Jm- "'ManlioCipolla, P via, Italy vested inithe Alien j 1 i t t- 7mm}. a Application July 11, 1941, Serial No. 401.901,

. In Italy October 24,1940 3 h 2Claims. (o1..2t's f2 :".0) I I to eachother comprise resilientelements, and allow' of;longitudinal adjustments of thejoint due'to'therm-al expansions orcontractions of the This invention relates to rail joints'forrailroad tracks, and particularly to a type of su'chjoints wherein the. wheel-load. is supported by the-rail heads throughout the length of the joint and all dynamic loads. on the'joi'nt are thus eliminated.

In, the conventional types of joints thetwo adjacent rails are laid end to end with asmall clearance left therebetween to allow of thermal expansions and contractions of the metal, and. are then fished or otherwise suitably connected.

These types of joints therefore comprisea'short gap from the end plane of one rail to that of the other wherein the wheel-load is not supported by thehead of either rail. When a wheel leaves the-first rail, it falls for a brief instant into said gap and thus acquires a certain momentumin a direction perpendicular to the face of the rail which is the cause of a shock when the wheel comes into contact;with the second rail. Such shocks repeated at frequent intervals-are harm ful to the rolling stock and they also cause wear in the rail joint and deformation of the same in ever increasing proportions. It is understood that these phenomena are well known andtheir consequences and importiully apprehended by persons skilled in the, art. s

The primary object of this invention is to provide'a novel and improved type of rail joint wherein the two rails to be jointed are associated ina manner to providea continuous supporting rails, whilea sufficient. locking-pressureis maintained b y-said resilientelements. on the rails not- 1 withstanding said longitudinal adjustments.

IA still further object of this inventio'nis to provide a rail with: complementary shaped and reinforced ends adapted to cooperate with other similar rails to form joints of the typedescribed. Other relatedand ancillary objects. will clearly appear as the description proceeds; I

A p-referredembodiment of the inventionmis surface for the wheel-loads throughout the entire length of th joint and the load is gradually transferred from one rail to the other, so that all shocks in the passage of the wheels over'the joint are eliminated and the mechanical and wear conditions of the rolling stock, of the'rails and of the joint are considerably improved.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rail joint wherein the ends of the adjacent rails are secured together by suitable locking means and are so strengthened as to accommodate said locking means without becoming dangerously lightened or weakened. A further object of this invention is to provide a rail joint of the type described, wherein the ends of the two rails to be jointed are provided with suitably matching Vertical and horizontal plane surfaces to assure great compactness, strength, and resistance to wear, and wherein said matching surfaces constantly engage each other irrespective of any thermal variations in the length of the rails.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a rail joint of the type described wherein the locking means used for securingthe rails =theirentire area, as shown at;8,'Fig. 2.

- shown by way of-example in the appended drawing wherein:

.' Fig. 1 is'a'side elevation of a joint according "to theinvention. showing the-cross-ties and seatplate insection.

Fig.2 is a plan view andpartial horizontal section of the rail joint of Fig. 1.. i j

Fig.3 is avertical section of Fig. 1 on theline AB ofFig. l g a Referring to'the drawing, the numerals I and 2 denote the two rails to be jointed. Rail! is cut/along a vertical .plane forming an acute angle with the plane of symmetry or axial plane of the rail, rail 2 is out along a parallel plane, and the two oblique surfaces engage each. other over The web of .rail I has a'thickened portion!) on jtheside-the reof opposite to the junction plane 8." In the embodiment. the web has been thickened as muchfas it is necessary to bring it flush with" theouter edge of the head H) of rail I. The web of rail 2 hasa thickened portion H 'on the side thereof opposite to the junction plane 8, of the same thickness as the portion 9. Both webs are also slightly thickened at the beginning of the junction plane 8.

The, flange of raill is raisedto provide a step at 12; thus the bottom portion of the rail I throughout the length of the joint has a flat sole l3 located on a plane higher than the plane M of the, foot of the rail proper.

The, flange of the rail 2 on the otherhand is provided with' .a flat horizontal end portion I5 on which the' sole [3 bears.

The ends of both rails are seated on a seatplate 4 fastened to the cross-ties! by means of spikes 6. Said seat-plate does not merely function as a support but is provided with a central recessed portion adapted to receive and moontain the flanges of the rail ends when they slide respectively toone another because of expansions or contractions due to changes in temperature.

Such recessed portion of the seat-plate, therefore, acts as a guide .and prevents lateral dis- 7 placement of the rail ends during their slidingv movement. To further secure the rails there are provided four clips l6 held by bolts equipped with resilient washers to maintain a suificient locking. pressure without hindering the sliding movement-of the flanges. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, these clipsIB are mounted on' the longitudinal ribs which form the central recessed portion of the seat-plate 4, and are arranged in two pairs, the two clips of each pair being placed on fianges'of the rail 1 at points adjacentthe parts I ;,thejflanges of the rails l andZ, respectively in' alignment on a planetransverseto the axial plane of the rails.v Two clips. [them on the of thethickened portion 9 on the non-engaging part of rail I adjacent the end of the'fplane 18,.

and the other two clips l6 bear on the flanges of the rail 2 at pointsadjacent the parts of the thickened portion ll on the non-engaging part of rail 2 adjacent the other'end of the plane ,8. Also, as'shown'inFig. 3, these clips I'B bear upon .I and 2, so. that their hearing is on' flanges of double-thickness. The two rails areheld together .by locking b0lts-3 shown .in number of three,'1: rovidedwith resilient washers l1. Teaccommodate said bolts, rail I has circular bores l8 and rail 2 has horizontally elongated bores i9 v to allow of longitudinalfadjustments. of thejoint.

w en the temperature changes and the rails undergo; expansions or contractions, they slide a relative to'each other along the junction plane 8. This causes a slight decrease in thethickness of the joint, which is compensated bythe elasthe stepped up portions of the flanges of the rails While in the foregoing there has been described an embodiment which fully attainsthe objects of the invention, it is to be understood, that the same is not limited to the details herein set forth and that the invention can be carried into practice in a number of manners anda number of variations and adaptations may be made therein without departing, from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims. 10

I claim:

. 1 In a rail joint comprising two rails having their ends shaped to'engage'continuously each other along a vertical junction plane forming an acute. angle withthe axial planes of the rails, and their webs thickened on the side thereof opposite to the junction plane, in combination, an uprwardly stepped flange at one of the rail ends having a flat bottom surface, and a, flange at the other rail end shaped to form ahorizontal fiatfupiper surface on which said upwardly stepped'portion bears, said flanges at both the rail ends-being of substantially the normal thickness of the rail flanges so that the co-acting flangesform a compound flange of double-thickness throughout the length of the engaging portions of the rails, and corresponding. single "flanges of double-thickness on the non-engaging portions of the rails adjacent the ends of the junction plane, a bed-plate on which rest both the 1 compound and single double-thickness flanges, and clips mounted in'saidbed-plate and bearing on the single double-thickness flanges. 2. In a rail joint comprising two rails having their ends shaped to engage continuously each other along a'vertical junction plane forming an 1 acute angle with the axial planes of the railsand ticity of theresilient washers H which maintain,-

the transversal locking pressure on the rails sub- .stantially constant or at any ratesufiicient in spite of all such variations.

It will be noted that, when .a wheel-load passes over a joint of this nature, the load is gradually abandoned by one rail and gradually received by the other, thanks to the fact, that through- .out the joint both rails cooperate in supporting the load. In ordinary joints, even disregarding the shock due to .the gap between the rails, the transmission of the load from one railv tothe other is practically instantaneous, whereby the rails themselves and all the elements of the track i This are submitted-to an additional. strain. 'strainis completelyeliminated by the invention,

ing lateral displacement of said rails,'and pairs of clips mounted on said ribson axes transverse to the rails and bearing on the guided flanges 'at points on the non-engaging portions of the rails" adjacent the ends of said junctionplane.

MANLIO CIPOLLA. 

